Chemical feeding device

ABSTRACT

In a medicine supply apparatus having a plurality of tablet cases equipped in a case accommodating portion of a main body, each tablet case containing medicines, chutes into which medicines discharged from the respective table cases fall, a hopper equipped in correspondence with the lower portions of the chutes, and a charging apparatus for charging a medicine accommodating container with medicines caught by the hopper, a plurality of drawers are equipped in the case accommodating portion, the tablet cases are detachably mounted on each drawer, and each drawer is equipped so as to be freely drawn out from the case accommodating portion.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a medicine supply apparatus forsupplying a container (bottle, bag or the like) with medicinesaccommodated in a tablet case by a prescribed number indicated by amedical prescription in a hospital, a pharmacy or the like.

BACKGROUND ART

In a hospital or pharmacy, it has been general that medicines prescribedby a doctor are supplied to a patient by using a medicine supplyapparatus disclosed in JP-UM-B-57-5282 (B65B1/30) (it is referred to asa tablet packaging machine in this publication), for example. Accordingto this system, medicines (tablets, capsules or the like) whose numberis indicated in a medical prescription are discharged from the inside ofa tablet case one by one by using a discharge drum (referred to as anarray board in the above publication), passed through a chute and thencollected in a hopper. Thereafter, the medicines thus collected arepackaged with packaging paper or put in a bottle

An extremely large number of tablet cases are accommodated in a caseaccommodating portion of such a medicine supply apparatus in accordancewith the types of medicines. Furthermore, each tablet case is normallydetachably mounted in the case accommodating portion because the typesof medicines are renewed or medicines are supplemented, and thus somespace for mounting/detaching each tablet case on/from the caseaccommodating portion must be kept at the upper side of each tabletcase. For this reason, the case accommodating portion of the medicinesupply apparatus must be dimensionally scaled up in connection withmultiplication of the types of medicines to be treated, and thus thewhole size of the medicine supply apparatus is increased. Therefore, animprovement has been required.

Furthermore, in the medicine supply apparatus described above, tabletcases, chutes, a hopper, etc. may be polluted with fine powder occurringfrom medicines, or a packaging machine for packaging medicines intopackaging paper and a bottling machine for bottling medicines (both arecharging machines) have a risk that they have a breakdown because theyhave relatively complicated mechanisms. However, in the conventionalmedicine supply apparatus as described above, particularly the hopperand the charging machines are fixed in the main body of the apparatus,and thus it has been remarkably difficult to carry out maintenance suchas cleaning, exchanging of parts, etc. on these machines.

Still furthermore, various kinds of containers to be charged withmedicines, for example, packages achieved by subjecting packaging paperto heat-adhesion, so-called blister packages, etc. are used inconnection with application fields. However, as described above, in theconventional medicine supply device, the charging machines such as thepackaging machine, the bottling machine, etc. are designed to be fixedin the main body of the medicine supply apparatus in advance, and thusplural types of medicine supply apparatuses each of which is equippedwith a charging apparatus such as a bottling machine, a packagingmachine, a blister packaging machine or the like are manufactured inconnection with the types of contains for medicines. Therefore, therehas been a problem that the manufacturing cost and the part managingcost are increased.

Particularly when medicines are packaged and divided into packages inthe medicine supply apparatus described above, a nozzle is fixed to anoutlet at the lower end of a hopper for catching medicines, the nozzleis inserted into heat-adhesive packaging paper wound in a roll shape,and then medicines are charged in the packaging paper. Accordingly, ifthe feeding position of the packaging paper and the nozzle position arenot accurately matched with each other, the packaging paper isunnecessarily expansively opened, so that some trouble occurs inheat-adhesion or some trouble occurs in the feeding operation of thepackaging paper itself. Therefore, the securing positions of the hopperand the nozzle must be strictly specified, and it has been difficult toperform a fabrication work.

The present invention has been implemented to solve the conventionaltechnical problem as described above, and has an object to provide amedicine supply apparatus which can suppress scale-up thereof withincreasing the number of tablet cases to be accommodated in the medicinesupply apparatus.

Furthermore, the present invention has another object to provide amedicine supply apparatus in which maintenance such as cleaning,exchanging of parts, etc. can be remarkably easily performed.

Still furthermore, another object of the present invention is to providea medicine supply apparatus which can be improved in generality andconvenience and save the cost.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, a medicine supply apparatuscomprising plural tablet cases equipped in a case accommodating portionof a main body thereof, each of the table cases having medicinesaccommodated therein, chutes through which medicines discharged from thetablet cases are passed, a hopper equipped so as to face the lowerportions of the chutes, and a charging apparatus for charging a medicineaccommodating container with medicines caught by the hopper ischaracterized in that a plurality of drawers are equipped in the caseaccommodating portion so as to be freely drawn out, and the tablet casesare detachably mounted on the drawers.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, each of the drawers has apassage passing in an up-and-down direction at the center thereof, thetablet cases are mounted at both the sides of the respective passages,the passages of the respective drawers mutually intercommunicate withone another under a state that the drawers are accommodated in the caseaccommodating portion, whereby the chutes are linked to one another inthe up-and-down direction.

The above medicine supply apparatus further comprises an additional unitconnected to the upper side of the main body, wherein a plurality ofdrawers are equipped in the additional unit so as to be freely drawnout, tablet cases are detachably mounted on the drawers, and under astate that the plural drawers of the additional unit are accommodated inthe additional unit, passages which are equipped at the centers of thedrawers of the additional unit and intercommunicate with one another inthe up-and-down direction intercommunicate with the passages of thedrawers accommodated in the case accommodating portion, thereby formingchutes extending from the additional unit through the case accommodatingportion so that the chutes are continuous with one another in theup-and-down direction.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, each of the drawers is designedso that tablet cases can be mounted thereon or no tablet case is mountedthereon.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, each of the drawers is designedso that different types of tablet cases and corresponding tablet casescan be mounted thereon.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the different types of tabletcases are tablet cases which are different in size or shape or differentin the type of medicines to be accommodated in the tablet cases.

The above medicine supply apparatus further comprises regulating meansfor prohibiting neighboring drawers from being simultaneously drawn out.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the drawers are equipped onplural columns in the right-and-left direction and plural stages in theup-and-down direction in the case accommodating portion, and theregulating means prohibits simultaneous draw-out of the neighboringdrawers on a column basis or on a stage basis.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the regulating means comprises astay which is rotatably disposed at the rear side of the inside of thecase accommodating portion in correspondence with the rear portions ofthe drawers located on each column or stage, and upon draw-out of anydrawer, the stay prohibits draw-out of other drawers located in the samecolumn or stage as the drawer concerned.

The above medicine supply apparatus further comprises lock means forprohibiting draw-out of the drawers.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the lock means is of an electricmotor-drive-n type.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the operation of the lock meansis prohibited when any drawer is drawn out.

The above medicine supply apparatus further comprises lock release meansfor releasing the lock means.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the lock release means is of amanual type.

According to the present invention, a medicine supply apparatuscomprising plural tablet cases equipped in a case accommodating portionof a main body thereof, each of the table cases having medicinesaccommodated therein, chutes through which medicines discharged from thetablet cases are passed, a hopper equipped so as to face the lowerportions of the chutes, and a charging apparatus for charging a medicineaccommodating container with medicines caught by the hopper, ischaracterized in that the main body comprises an upper structure inwhich the tablet cases are equipped, and a lower structure which isdetachably joined to the lower side of the upper structure and in whichthe charging apparatus is set up, and any one of plural types of lowerstructures in which different charging apparatuses are respectively setup in accordance with the types of containers to be charged withmedicines is selectively joined to the upper structure.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the charging apparatus comprisesany one of a packaging machine for charging and packaging medicines inpackaging paper, a bottling machine for bottling medicines and a blisterpackaging machine, and the lower structure in which any one of thepackaging machine, the bottling machine and the blister packagingmachine is mounted is selectively joined to the upper structure.

The above medicine supply apparatus further comprises a shutter which isdetachably secured to the main body so as to be freely opened/closed andtemporarily catches medicines falling from the chutes to the hopper.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the shutter and the hopper areequipped so as to be simultaneously drawn out from the main body.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the shutter is equipped with abuffer member for absorbing impact of medicines falling from the chutes.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the shutter comprises a pair ofslope walls which are separated from each other while sloping in anupward direction, and an opening/closing plate for freelyopening/closing an opening formed between the lower ends of the slopewalls, and the buffer member is downwardly suspended at the centerbetween the slope walls so as to face the slope walls.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the lower end of the buffermember extends further downwardly from the opening.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the lower end of the buffermember extends downwardly so as to be pinched by the opening/closingplate while the opening/closing plate is set to a close state.

According to the present invention, a medicine supply apparatuscomprising plural tablet cases equipped in a case accommodating portionof a main body thereof, each of the table cases having medicinesaccommodated therein, chutes through which medicines discharged from thetablet cases are passed, a hopper equipped so as to face the lowerportions of the chutes, and a charging apparatus for charging a medicineaccommodating container with medicines caught by the hopper, ischaracterized in that the tablet cases, the hoper and the chargingapparatus are equipped so as to be drawn out and detached from the mainbody.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the tablet cases are equipped sothat a plurality of tablet cases can be simultaneously drawn out anddetached from the main body.

The above medicine supply apparatus further comprises a shutter which isequipped in the main body so as to be freely opened/closed andtemporarily catches medicines falling from the chutes to the hopper, andthe shutter being equipped so as to be drawn out and detached from themain body.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the shutter and the hopper areequipped so as to be simultaneously drawn out from the main body.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the shutter is equipped with abuffer member for absorbing impact of medicines falling from the chutes.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the shutter comprises a pair ofslope walls which are separated from each other while sloping in anupward direction, and an opening/closing plate for freelyopening/closing an opening formed between the lower ends of the slopewalls, and the buffer member is downwardly suspended at the centerbetween the slope walls so as to face the slope walls.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the lower end of the buffermember extends further downwardly from the opening.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the lower end of the buffermember extends downwardly so as to be pinched by the opening/closingplate while the opening/closing plate is set to a close state.

In the above medicine supply apparatus, the charging apparatus isequipped with heat-adhesive packaging paper wound in a roll shape and anozzle which is inserted in the packaging paper continuously drawn outand puts medicines discharged from the tablet cases into the packagingpaper, and the nozzle is designed to be freely swingable in a directionperpendicular to a feeding direction of the packaging paper.

According to the present invention, in the medicine supply apparatuscomprising plural tablet cases equipped in a case accommodating portionof a main body thereof, each of the table cases having medicinesaccommodated therein, chutes through which medicines discharged from thetablet cases are passed, a hopper equipped so as to face the lowerportions of the lower portions of the chutes, and a charging apparatusfor charging a container such as a bag, a bottle or the like withmedicines caught by the hopper, drawers of plural stages are equipped inthe case accommodating portion, plural tablet cases are mounted on eachdrawer, and each drawer is enabled to be freely drawn out from the caseaccommodating portion. Therefore, when a tablet case is supplementedwith medicines or exchanged by a new one, the supplement or exchange canbe performed by drawing out each drawer.

Accordingly, as compared with the structure that respective drawersarranged in the up-and-down direction are simultaneously drawn out, thegap to be formed between the upper and lower drawers for medicinesupplement or exchange can be reduced more greatly, and thus the numberof tablet cases to be accommodated in the case accommodated portion canbe increased with suppressing scale-up of the dimension of the overallmedicine supply apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a medicine supply apparatus according toan embodiment of the present invention (excluding a top board),

FIG. 2 is a front view of the medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1 when acover panel of each drawer is detached and a lower panel is opened,

FIG. 3 is another front view of the medicine supply apparatus shown inFIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a side view of the medicine supply apparatus,

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the medicine supply apparatus shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of drawers of the medicine supply apparatusshown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the drawers of FIG. 7 when theaccommodating container of the tablet cases is detached,

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the accommodating container of thetablet cases of the medicine supply apparatus shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a driving base of thetablet case of the medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a shelve of the medicine supplyapparatus and identifying sensors,

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a tablet case and an identifyingsensor of the medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 13 is a perspective front view showing the relationship between theshelve and a stay in the medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 14 is a perspective front view showing the positional relationshipof the stays of the medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 15 is a perspective side view showing the relationship between thedrawer and the stay in the medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the operation of the stay of the medicinesupply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the operation of the stay of the medicinesupply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the operation of the stay of the medicinesupply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the operation of the stay of the medicinesupply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the operation of the stay of the medicinesupply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the operation of the stay of the medicinesupply apparatus shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the operation of a solenoid of the medicinesupply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the operation of the solenoid of themedicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the operation of a lock release lever ofthe medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 25 is a longitudinally-sectional side view showing a shutter of themedicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 26 is a longitudinally-sectional front view of the shutter of themedicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 27 is another longitudinally sectional front view of the shutter ofthe medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 28 is a front view showing a packaging machine of the medicinesupply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 29 is a perspective view showing a nozzle of the medicine supplyapparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing a printer of the medicine supplyapparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between aprinter head and a heat seal head to packaging paper in the medicinesupply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a print result to the packaging paper inthe medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing another example of the print result topackaging paper in the medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 34 is a block diagram showing an electrical circuit of a controllerof the medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 35 is a perspective view showing an extension unit of the medicinesupply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 36 is a perspective view showing another example the drawer of themedicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the drawerof the medicine supply apparatus shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 38 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the drawerof the medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 39 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the drawerof the medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 40 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the drawerof the medicine supply apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 41 is a perspective view showing a catcher portion of a lowerstructure,

FIG. 42 is another perspective view showing the catcher portion of thelower structure of FIG. 40, and

FIG. 43 is a perspective view the medicine supply apparatus (excluding atop board) of another embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a medicinesupply apparatus 1 (excluding a top board 1A) according to an embodimentof the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the medicine supplyapparatus 1 under a state that a cover panel 6 of each drawer 2 isdetached and lower panels 4 are opened, FIG. 3 is alongitudinally-sectional side view of the medicine supply apparatus 1,FIG. 4 is another front view of the medicine supply apparatus 1, FIG. 5is a side view of the medicine supply apparatus 1, FIG. 6 is a plan viewshowing the medicine supply apparatus 1, FIG. 7 is a perspective view ofa drawer 2, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the drawer 2 under the statethat an accommodating container 51 of the tablet cases 3 is detached,FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the accommodating container 51 ofthe tablet cases 3, FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing adriving base 52 of each tablet case 3, FIG. 11 is a perspective viewshowing a drawer and identifying sensors 33, and FIG. 12 is aperspective view showing the tablet cases 3 and the identifying sensors33.

The medicine supply apparatus 1 of this invention is set up in ahospital, a pharmacy or the like, and it comprises an elongatedrectangular main body 7 and a personal computer PC for control describedlater. The main body 7 comprises an upper structure 7A and a lowerstructure 7B which are mutually separable from each other, and the upperstructure 7A is joined to the lower structure 7B while mounted on thelower structure 7B. A case accommodating portion 8 is constructed insidethe upper structure 7A so that the front, upper and lower faces thereofare opened, and the opened top face of the case accommodating portion 8is closed by a detachable top board 1A.

Furthermore, the lower structure 7B is designed so that the front andupper faces thereof are opened, and it intercommunicates with the upperstructure 7A at the upper face thereof. A packaging machine 13, etc. areaccommodated as a charging apparatus in the lower structure 7B, and theopening of the front face of the lower structure 7B is closed bydouble-doored lower panels 4 so that the opening can be freelyopened/closed.

Drawers 2 are arranged on four columns in the right-and-left directionand five stages in the up-and-down direction (totally twenty drawers) inthe case accommodating portion 8 of the upper structure 7A. A door panel6 is secured to the front end of each drawer 2, and the door panels 6close the opening of the front face of the upper structure 7A (caseaccommodating portion 8) under the state that all the drawers 2 areaccommodated in the case accommodating portion 8. A passage 9 is formedat the center of each drawer so as to extend in the front-and-reardirection. The passages 9 thus formed in the respective drawersintercommunicate with one another in the up-and-down direction, andevery eight (totally sixteen) driving bases 52 of tablet cases 3 arejuxtaposed with one another at both the right and left sides of eachpassage 9 in the front-and-rear direction (FIG. 7, FIG. 8). The tabletcase 3 comprises the driving base 52 and the accommodating container 51joined onto the driving base 52.

A drum motor 14 for driving a drum (that is, a rotating motor having arectifying brush) is accommodated from the upper side in the drivingbase 52 so as to be fixed to the driving base 52 by a cover 16 and aclip 17. Under this state, a driving shaft 14A of the drum motor 14projects upwardly from the cover 16 (FIG. 10). Furthermore, an opticalmedicine detecting sensor 18 is secured to a discharge port 21 formed inthe driving base 52, and a discharging chute 19 extending from thedischarging port 21 obliquely downwardly is formed in the driving base52 located below the medicine detecting sensor 18 (FIG. 10). Thedischarging chute 19 is opened so as to intercommunicate with thepassage 9 described above.

The top face of the accommodating container 51 of the tablet case 3 isopened, and the opening of the accommodating container 51 is closed by alid 22 which is freely opened/closed (FIG. 9). A discharging drum 23 issecured at the bottom portion in the accommodating container 51, andplural longitudinal grooves 24 are formed at predetermined intervals onthe circumference of the side surface of the discharging drum 23.Medicines are filled from the opening of the upper face of theaccommodating container 51 into the inside of the accommodatingcontainer 51 (the lid 22 is opened), and every two medicines are putinto each longitudinal groove of the discharging drum 23. Anoptically-identifiable identification code (bar code or the like) 26 isattached to the side surface of the lower portion of the accommodatingcontainer 51. The identification code 26 is a code for identifying thetype of the medicines charged in the corresponding accommodatingcontainer 51.

The accommodating container 51 is mounted on the driving base 52described above so as to be detachably joined to the driving base 52. Inthis case, the identification code is attached so as to face the outsideof the drawer 2 (the opposite side to the passage 9). Through the abovefabrication, each tablet case 3 is constructed. At this time, thedischarging drum 23 is freely detachably fitted to the driving shaft 14Aof the drum motor 14. When the drum motor 14 is forwardly driven, thedischarging drum 23 is forwardly rotated, and each longitudinal groove24 is successively matched with the discharging port 21 of the drivingbase 52, so that medicines put in each longitudinal groove 24 fall downto the discharging chute 19 one by one.

The medicines passing through the discharging port 21 are detected bythe medicine detecting sensor 18. The medicines falling into thedischarging chute 19 are discharged to the passage 9 of the drawer 2.When the accommodating container 51 becomes vacant, the accommodatingcontainer 51 is detached from the driving base 52 and charged withmedicines.

As described above, each drawer 2 on which plural tablet cases 3 aremounted is detachably fitted to a pair of right and left drawing rails27 secured in the case accommodating portion 8 of the upper structure 7Aby screws. Accordingly, the drawers 2 and the plural tablet cases 3secured to the drawers 2 are accommodated in the case accommodatingportion 8 so as to be freely drawn out from the case accommodatingportion 8 and also detachable from the drawing rails 27 under the statethat they are drawn out (FIG. 5).

A harness 28 for supplying current (power supply) to the drum motor 14of each tablet case 3 and also transferring an output from the medicinedetecting sensor 18 is detachably secured to the rear end of each drawer2 through a connector 29. The harness 28 is designed to be longer thanthe draw-out distance of the drawer 2, and it is held by a wire holdingmember 31 which is secured to the upper structure 7A and expanded andcontracted by folding (FIG. 8).

Under the state that the drawers 2 are accommodated in the caseaccommodating portion 8, the passages 9 of respective drawers 2 locatedat the upper and lower positions face each other, and form a series ofchutes 32 intercommunicating with one another in the up-and-downdirection. Accordingly, according to this embodiment, chutes 32 whichare arranged on four columns in the right-and-left direction so as toextend in the up-and-down direction are constructed in the caseaccommodating portion 8. Since the drawers which can be freely drawn outindependently of one another are equipped at plural stages in theup-and-down direction in the case accommodating portion 8, each drawer 2can be drawn out when the accommodating container 51 of each tablet case3 is exchanged or the like.

Accordingly, as compared with the structure that drawers arranged on onecolumn in the up-and-down direction are simultaneously drawn out, thegap interval to be formed between the upper and lower drawers 2 toexchange some accommodating container 51 can be more greatly reduced,and thus the number of tablet cases 3 which can be accommodated in thecase accommodating portion 8 can be increased without causing themedicine supply apparatus 1 to be large in size. Furthermore, thepassage 9 is formed at the center of each drawer 2, and the chutes 32extending so as to intercommunicate with one another in the up-and-downdirection are formed by the respective passages 9 in the up-and-downdirection while the upper and lower drawers 2 are accommodated in thecase accommodating portion 8. Therefore, as compared with the structurethat a chute is constructed at the side portion of each drawer 2, thegap interval of the chutes 32 located at the right and left ends can bemore greatly reduced. Accordingly, the opening areas of the upper facesof a shutter 53 and a hopper 54 can be reduced, and thus they can beminiaturized.

At the right and left sides in the case accommodating portion 8 of theupper structure 7A, plural optical identification sensors 33 areequipped in connection with the tablet cases 3 of the respective drawers2 at the right and left ends (FIG. 11, FIG. 12). The respectiveidentification sensors 33 are disposed so as to face the identificationcodes 26 of the tablet cases 3 located at one sides of the respectivedrawers 2 which face the right and left side surfaces of the caseaccommodating portion 8, and used to read out information of theidentification codes 26 in a non-contact style.

Here, four stays 34 extending in the up-and-down direction are equippedas regulating means at the rear portion in the case accommodatingportion 8 of the upper structure 7A in correspondence with the backsides of the drawers 2 on the columns in the right-and-left direction(FIG. 13 to FIG. 15). The regulating means avoids such a disadvantagethat when plural drawers 2 are simultaneously drawn out, the medicinesupply apparatus topples over to the front side by the weights of thedrawers 2 thus drawn out. Therefore, the regulating means enhances thesafety of the medicine supply apparatus.

Furthermore, each stay 34 is disposed so as to be freely rotatablearound shafts 36 located at the upper and lower ends. The stay 34 isdesigned to have an L-shaped section as shown in FIGS. 16 to 21, and hasa regulating piece 34A having engaging holes 37 formed at five placesthereof in the up-and-down direction, and a release piece 34B extendingfrom the edge portion of the regulating piece 34A vertically.

A coil spring 38 is fitted to each stay 34, and by restoring force ofthe coil spring 38, the stay 34 is stably kept to a release state thatthe respective pieces 34A, 34B are oriented backwardly as shown in FIG.16 and a regulated state that the regulating piece 34A is orientedforwardly as shown in FIG. 17.

Furthermore, an acting member 39 extending backwardly is secured to theback surface of each drawer 2 so as to project backwardly. The actingmember 39 is equipped in conformity with the height of each engaginghole 37 of the stay 34, and has an L-shaped acting piece 39A projectingbackwardly and an L-shaped engaging piece 39B located at the front side.

When all the drawers 2 on one column in the up-and-down direction areaccommodated in the case accommodating portion 8, the corresponding stay34 is set to the release state shown in FIG. 16. This state is stablyheld by the coil springs 38. At this time, the acting piece 39A of theacting member 39 is located behind the regulating piece 34A of the stay34. When some drawer 2 is drawn out forwardly under the above state, theacting piece 39A presses over the regulating piece 34A and rotates thestay 34 counterclockwise in FIG. 16 (FIG. 17). When the acting member 39is moved in front of the stay 34, the regulating piece 34A of the stay34 is forwardly inclined, so that the regulated state under which therelease piece 34B is oriented to the right side is set.

Under the regulated state, the engaging pieces 39B of the acting members39 of the other drawers 2 in the up-and-down direction are inserted andfitted in the engaging holes 37 of the other regulating pieces 34A ofthe stay 34 (FIG. 18), and thus the other drawers 2 are prohibited frombeing drawn out. Subsequently, when the drawer 2 thus drawn out ispushed, the acting piece 39A of the acting member 39 finally abutsagainst the release piece 34B of the stay 34 (FIG. 19), and presses therelease piece 34B backwardly, so that the stay 34 is counterclockwiserotated in FIG. 19 (FIG. 20). Accordingly, the regulating pieces 34A areseparated from the engaging pieces 39B of the other drawers 2, and thusthe engagement between each engaging hole 37 and each engaging piece 39Bis released, so that the other drawers 2 are allowed to be drawn out.When the accommodation of the drawer 2 concerned in the caseaccommodating portion 8 is finished, the stay 34 is returned to theinitial release state, and stably held by the coil spring 38 (FIG. 21).

According to this construction, only any one of the drawers arranged oneach column in the up-and-down direction is allowed to be drawn out, andthus it is impossible to simultaneously drawn out plural drawers 2.Accordingly, there can be prevented such a disadvantage that pluraldrawers 2 on one column in the up-and-down direction are simultaneouslydrawn out and thus the main body 7 topples over to the front side by theweights thereof. Particularly, the drawers on each column in theup-and-down direction can be prohibited from being simultaneously drawnout, and in other words, four drawers at maximum (in the right-and-leftdirection) can be simultaneously drawn out from the case accommodatingportion 8. Accordingly, the minimum usability is secured. Furthermore,the draw-out operation on a column basis is prohibited, and thus theregulating means can be constructed by something like the stay 34 ofthis embodiment. Therefore, the structure can be simplified.

In the above-described embodiment, at least adjacent drawers 2 may beprohibited from being simultaneously drawn out. However, the drawerswhich are prohibited from being simultaneously drawn out are not limitedto adjacent drawers. For example, every other drawers may be prohibitedfrom being simultaneously drawn out, and any simultaneous draw-outprohibiting style may be adopted insofar as the risk that the medicinesupply apparatus topples over due to simultaneous draw-out can beprevented.

Each stay 34 may be further equipped with a lock member 41 projectingforwardly under the release state. A solenoid 42 serving as lock meansis secured to the upper structure 7A so as to face the front side of thelock member 41 of each stay 34, and a plunger 42A of the solenoid 42projects backwardly.

Under the state that the plunger 42A is kept to project backwardly, thesolenoid 42 abuts against the lock member 41 under the release statedescribed above, and prohibits rotation of the lock member 41 (FIG. 22).Accordingly, the stay 34 concerned cannot be rotated, and thus theacting members 39 cannot be moved from the state of FIG. 16, so that allthe drawers 2 on the column corresponding to the stay 34 concerned areprohibited from being drawn out. A motor as well as the solenoid of thisembodiment may be used as the lock means. Furthermore, in thisembodiment, an electric motor-driven type is used as the lock means.However, the present invention is not limited to the electricmotor-driven type, and manual lock means such as a mechanical type orthe like may be used.

Under the state that the plunger 42A is sucked in, the stay 34 isallowed to be rotated as shown in FIG. 23, and the lock is released. 43represents a lock sensor disposed at a position at which the tip 41A ofthe lock member 41 is located when the stay 34 is set to the releasestate. When the lock member 41 concerned is detected under the abovestate, the stay 34 is rotated as shown in FIG. 23 to set the regulatedstate and then the tip 41A of the lock member 41 is separated from thelock sensor 43, the lock member 41 is not detected. Accordingly, thestate of the stay 34 is identifiable.

Furthermore, 44 represents a lock release bar as manual locking releasemeans, and it is equipped in connection with each solenoid 42. The lockrelease bar 44 is designed in L-shape, and the rear end thereof isfitted to the plunger 42A. The lock release bar 44 is backwardly urgedby a coil spring 46 at all times, and it is separated from the plunger42A under this state (FIG. 22, FIG. 23). When the lock release bar 44 ispulled, the plunger 42A is sucked into the solenoid 42 side to releasethe lock of the solenoid 42 (FIG. 24). Accordingly, the lock release ofall the drawers 2 on one column in the up-and-down direction can bemanually performed. The lock release bar (the lock release means) is notlimited to a manual type, but it may be an electric motor-driven type orthe like.

In this embodiment, plural drawers 2 are prohibited from beingsimultaneously drawn out on a vertical column basis. However, thisinvention is not limited to this style, and plural drawers 2 may beprohibited from being simultaneously drawn out on a horizontal stagebasis and also may be locked on a horizontal stage basis. In this case,a lateral stay is equipped in connection with each of the five stages inthe up-and-down direction.

According to this embodiment, many drawers are prohibited from beingdrawn out, the disadvantage that the medicine supply apparatus topplesover to the front side by the weight of the drawers can be avoided, anda supplement/exchange work of medicines can be performed with highersafety. Particularly, when the regulating means prohibits simultaneousdraw-out of plural drawers every column or every stage, the minimumsimultaneous draw-out is allowed, and the structure of the regulatingmeans itself can be simplified with securing usability. When apredetermined number of drawers or all the drawers are prohibited frombeing simultaneously drawn out by the lock means, an non-allowed accessto tablet cases can be prohibited. Therefore, such a risk that differentmedicines are accommodated can be excluded, and safety in dispensingwork can be kept. Furthermore, when the electric motor-driven type isused as the lock means, setting of an access right by using a personalcomputer can be easily performed.

As described above, the packaging machine 13 (charging apparatus) isaccommodated at the lower portion of the lower structure 7B of the mainbody 7. The structure of the packaging machine 13 will be described indetail later, and the packaging machine 13 is detachably secured to thedraw-out rails 47 by screws, and the draw-out rails 47 are secured tothe right and left sides of the bottom face in the lower structure 7B asshown in FIG. 3. Accordingly, the packaging machine 13 can be freelydrawn out from the inside of the lower structure 7B under the state thatthe lower panels 4 are opened, and further under the state that thepackaging machine is drawn out, the packaging machine can be mounted onor detached from the draw-out rails 47. 48 represents a harness for thepackaging machine which is freely detachably connected between thepackaging machine 13 and the lower structure 7B through connectors, andit is designed to be long to the extent that the packaging machine 13 isallowed to be drawn out by a sufficient draw-out amount.

Two shutters 53 are juxtaposed with each other at the right and leftsides of the upper portion in the lower structure 7B. Each shutter 53corresponds to the lower side of the chutes located at the upper side ofthe shutter 53. The shutter 53 located at the right side when themedicine supply apparatus is viewed from the front side thereofcorresponds to the chute 32 at the right end and the chute 32 at theleft side of the right-end chute 32, and the shutter 53 located at theleft side when the medicine supply apparatus is viewed from the frontside thereof corresponds to the chute 32 at the left end and the chute32 at the right side of the let-end chute 32. These shutters 53 are usedto temporarily catch medicines falling from each chute 32 to the hopper54 described later.

The hopper 54 is equipped in the lower structure 7B so as to face thelower portions of the respective shutters 53. The hopper 54 is designedin such a rectangular funnel shape that the upper face thereof isbroadly opened and the body thereof is narrowed toward the lower end.The hopper 54 receives medicines which fall from the respective chutes32 and pass through the shutters 53, and discharges the medicines thusreceived from the lower end opening 54A.

The right and left sides of the upper end of the hopper 54 aredetachably secured through screws to draw-out rails 56 secured at theright and left sides of the upper portion of the lower structure 7B, andalso the respective shutters 53 are located at the upper sides of thedraw-out rails 56 and detachably secured to the draw-out rails 56 byscrews. Accordingly, the hopper 54 and the shutters 53 can besimultaneously freely drawn out forwardly from the inside of the lowerstructure 7B under the state that the lower panels 4 are opened, andfurther can be mounted on and detached from the draw-out rails 56 underthe state that they are drawn out (FIG. 5). As not shown, a freelydetachable harness for each shutter 53 is equipped, and this harness isdesigned to be sufficiently long to the extent that the draw-out amountof the shutter 53 concerned can be sufficiently allowed.

With the above construction, when maintenance such as exchange of atablet case 3, cleaning of the chutes 32 constructed by the respectivepassages 9 and the hopper 54, part exchange of the packaging machine 13,etc. is carried out, these elements are drawn out from the upperstructure 7A of the main body 7 or the lower structure 7B thereof andthen the detaching work is carried out.

Accordingly, the maintenance workability of the medicine supplyapparatus 1 can be remarkably enhanced, and the medicine charging workcan be smoothly performed. Particularly, a plurality of tablet cases 3can be simultaneously drawn out from the upper structure 7A on a drawerbasis, and also the accommodating containers 51 thereof are detachablymounted on the tablet cases 3, so that the exchange workability of theaccommodating containers 51 of the table cases 3 can be furtherenhanced.

Furthermore, the shutters 53 are secured so as to be drawn out from thelower structure 7B and detachable therefrom, so that the maintenanceworkability of the shutters 53 for temporarily receiving medicinesfalling to the hopper 54 can be enhanced. Particularly, since theshutters 53 and the hopper 54 are secured so that they can besimultaneously drawn out from the lower structure 7B, the workabilityfor the maintenance of the shutters 53 and the hopper 54 can be moreremarkably enhanced.

An additive medicine feeder (UTC) 57 is secured at the center of theupper portion in the lower structure 7B so as to be located between boththe shutters 53. In this case, the additive medicine feeder 57 are notcovered by the lower panels 4 and secured so that it can beindependently drawn out to the front side and also freely detached fromthe lower structure 7B (FIG. 1, FIG. 6). The additive medicine feeder 57is a feeder for arbitrarily supplying additive medicines, and itintercommunicates with the inside of the hopper 54.

Next, the structure of each shutter 53 will be described with referenceto FIGS. 25 to 27. The shutter 53 is designed to be elongated in thedepth direction of the lower structure 7B and substantially symmetric inthe right-and-left direction as a whole, and it comprises a rectangularfunnel-shaped main body 62 having right and left slope walls 61A and 61Bwhich are separated from each other while being inclined from the lowerside to the upper side so that the upper face of the main body 62 isbroadly opened, and a pair of opening/closing plates 63A and 63B foropening/closing a lower end opening 62A which is formed to be narrowedbetween the lower ends of the slope walls 61A and 61B of the main body62.

Each opening/closing plate 63A, 63B is operated by a solenoid 64, a coilspring 68 and a link mechanism 66 which are equipped at the rear portionof the opening/closing plate 63A, 63B. As shown in FIG. 26, the lowerends of the respective opening/closing plates 63A and 63B mutually abutagainst each other substantially continuously from the lower ends of theright and left slope walls 61A and 61B, and driven to a closed stateunder which the lower end opening 62A of the main body 62 is closed andan opened state under which the opening/closing plate 63A is clockwiserotated as shown in FIG. 27 while the opening/closing plate 63B iscounterclockwise rotated, so that the lower ends of the opening/closingplates 63A and 63B are mutually separated from each other and thus thelower end opening 62A is opened.

A curtain 67 serving as a buffer member is secured in each shutter 53.The curtain 67 is formed of thin cloth, rubber or synthetic resin havingflexibility, and it can absorb kinetic energy of medicines which fallfrom the chutes 32, impinge against the right and left slope walls 61A,61B and rebound therefrom. The curtain 67 is suspended from the centerof the upper portion in the main body 62 between the slope walls 61A and61B so as to face the slope walls 61A and 61B), and the lower endthereof extends further downwardly as compared with the lower endopening 62A of the main body 62, and extends to the position at whichthe lower end of the curtain 67 is pinched between the opening/closingplates 63A and 63B under the state that the opening/closing plates 63Aand 63B are closed.

According to this structure, the kinetic energy of medicines which fallinto the shutters 53 and rebound therefrom are absorbed by the curtain67, and the medicines quickly gather from the lower end opening 62A ontothe opening/closing plates 63A and 63B and get still there.Particularly, the curtain 67 extends from the upper portion of theshutter 53 to the lower end portion thereof (while facing the slopewalls 61A and 61B), so that the rebounding medicines are liable to abutagainst the curtain 67 and the impact (the kinetic energy of themedicines) absorbing action is further excellent. Therefore, the time inwhich the medicines get still is further shortened. Furthermore, thecurtain 67 is pinched between the opening/closing plates 63A and 63B,and thus noise occurring when the lower ends of the opening/closingplates 63A and 63B abut against each other is absorbed. Accordingly, itis possible to surely and quickly drop the medicines from the shutterfor temporarily receiving the medicines to the hopper.

In this embodiment, the lower end of the curtain 67 is pinched by theopening/closing plates 63A and 63B of he shutter 53. However, the end ofthe curtain 67 may be located in a free position just above theopening/closing plates 63A, 63B.

Next, the construction of the packaging machine 13 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 28. 71 represents a roll around whichheat-adhesive packaging paper 72 (constructing a container) is wound, 73represents a printer, 74 represents a nozzle secured to the lower endopening 54A of the hopper 54, 76 represents a heat seal head formed ofsilicon rubber, 77 represents a roller for feeding the packaging paper72 drawn out from the roll 71, 79 represents a cutter for cutting thepackaging paper 72, and 81 represents a conveyor for feeding partitionedand cut-out packaging paper 72 to a take-out port 82 equipped to thelower panel 4, which are successively disposed along the feeding passageof the packaging paper 72. 83 represents a motor for operating the heatseal head 74, 78 represents a motor for driving the roller 77, and 84represents a motor of the conveyor 81.

The packaging paper 72 wound around the roll 71 is opened at the uppersurface thereof, and two-folded at the lower end thereof to form asubstantially V-shaped section. The packaging paper 72 is drawn out fromthe roll 71 in a slant direction to the lower right side by a roller 77,etc., and then the surface thereof is printed as described later.Subsequently, medicines discharged from the nozzle 74 are put into thepackaging paper 72, and partitioned on a pack basis by heat-adhesion ofthe heat seal head 76. The packaging paper 72 which is partitioned andpackaged is cut by the cutter 79, and then fed to the take-out port 82at the upper left side by the conveyor 81.

Here, the nozzle 74 is designed in a rectangular cylindrical shape whichis opened at the upper and lower portion thereof as shown in FIG. 29. Aninsertion guide piece 86 to be inserted from the opening of the upperface of the packaging paper 72 into the packaging paper 72 is formed atthe printer 73 side of the lower end of the nozzle 74 so as to projectfrom the lower end of the nozzle 74, and a paper guide piece 87 forclosing the opening of the upper face of the packaging paper 72 isformed at the opposite side of the lower end of the nozzle 74 to theinsertion guide piece 86. The opening of the upper end of the nozzle 74faces the opening 54A of the lower end of the hopper 54. Accordingly,medicines received by the hopper 54 are put into the nozzle 74, and thenput into the packaging paper 72 guided by the insertion guide piece 86.

The nozzle 74 is secured to the hopper 54 by rotational shafts 89 of aholding member 88 so as to be freely swingable in a direction(front-and-rear direction) perpendicular to the travel direction(indicated by an arrow in FIG. 28) of the packaging paper 72.Accordingly, even when the positions of the hopper 54 and the nozzle 74are not strictly coincident with the position of the packaging paper 72of the packaging machine 13, the nozzle 74 is swung by the amountcorresponding to the positional displacement, whereby the lower-end portof the nozzle 74 can be made coincident with the position of thepackaging paper 72 with no trouble. Accordingly, even in such a case,the insertion guide piece 86 of the nozzle 74 can be inserted into thepackaging paper 72 to put medicines into the packaging paper 72 withoutunnecessarily spreading the opening of the upper face of the packagingpaper 72, and also the workability when the hopper 54 and the nozzle 74are installed can be enhanced.

Next, the printer 73 will be described. The printer 73 is a thermaltransfer type printer using an ink ribbon. As shown in FIG. 30, thepackaging paper 72 is pressed against a color ink ribbon 91 by a pressplate 92, and predetermined printing is carried out on the surface ofthe packaging paper 72 by a thermal transfer head 93. 94 represents anopen/close lid of the printer 73. The travel directions of the color inkribbon 91 and the packaging paper 72 are indicated by arrows in FIG. 30.

FIG. 31 shows the positional relationship between the printer head 93and the heat seal head 76 with respect to the packaging paper 72, andshows print example printed therebetween. In this embodiment, the colorink ribbon 91 contains different four kinds of color zones in the widthdirection as shown in FIG. 32. The broadest zone C1 for printing isblack color, for example, and a blue zone C2, a red zone C3 and finallya yellow zone C4 are equipped in this order.

The printer 73 thus constructed prints names, medicine taking date,medicine taking time zone, etc. with block in the zone C1, and also theprinter 73 prints a black line L1 on a package to be taken beforesleeping, a blue line L2 on a package to be taken after dinner, and ayellow line L4 on a package to be taken after breakfast so that medicinetaking time zones are discriminatively indicated with different colors.Accordingly, the medicine taking time zone can be easily identified, andoccurrence of erroneous medicine taking can be effectively avoided. Asshown in FIG. 33, the respective medicine taking time zones may beprinted with characters on the respective lines L1, L2, L3.

Next, FIG. 34 is a block diagram showing an electrical circuit of acontroller 95 for the medicine supply apparatus 1. The controller 95comprises a general purpose microcomputer 97 constituting control means,and the drum motor 14 of each table case 3, the packaging machine 13,the printer 73, the shutter solenoid 64 and each solenoid 42 areconnected to the output of the microcomputer 97 through a driver circuit94. The microcomputer 97 controls the driver circuit 94 to apply a DC24V voltage to each drum motor 14, whereby the drum motors 14 areforwardly and reversely rotated.

Furthermore, an output of a current transformer for detecting currentflowing through each drum motor 14 and outputs of each lock sensor 43,each medicine detecting sensor 18 and each identifying sensor 33 areconnected to inputs of a microcomputer 97. Furthermore, themicrocomputer 97 is connected to the personal computer PC so that thedata communication can be performed therebetween.

The operation of the medicine supply apparatus 1 thus constructed willbe described. It is assumed that each shutter 53 is closed when thepower source is turned on. It is assumed that the drawers 2 on which thetablet cases 3 having prescribed medicines accommodated therein aremounted are installed in the case accommodating portion 8 of the upperstructure 7A as described above.

When the power source of the medicine supply apparatus 1 is turned on,the microcomputer 97 of the controller 95 reads an identification codeof each tablet case 3 of each of the drawers located at the right andleft ends of the case accommodating portion 8 of the upper structure 7Aby using the identifying sensors 33. Accordingly, data on the type ofmedicines accommodated in each table case 3 is stored together with theposition of the tablet case 3 concerned, and the data is transmitted tothe personal computer PC.

The microcomputer 97 has a data base for the types of medicines inrespective tablet cases 3 accommodated in the case accommodating portion8 and the positions of the tablet cases 3 concerned, and the data baseconcerned is also transmitted to the personal computer PC. Theidentification codes read out by the identifying sensors 33 are alsoadded to the data base concerned.

First, the dispensing operation will be described. When a worker inputsprescription data from the personal computer on the basis of a medicalprescription indicated by a doctor, the microcomputer 97 of the medicinesupply apparatus 1 specifies a tablet case 3 containing the indicatedmedicines from the data base on the basis of the prescription dataconcerned, and forwardly rotates the corresponding drum motor 14 by thedriver 94 to rotate (forwardly rotate) the discharge drum 23, so thatthe medicines in the longitudinal groove 24 are discharged to thedischarge port 21 one by one.

At this time, the microcomputer 97 receives a medicine detection signalfrom the medicine detecting sensor 18 to count the medicines thusdischarged. At the stage that a predetermined amount (number) ofmedicines are discharged, the drum motor 14 is stopped. The medicinesthus discharged are put from the discharge chute 19 into the chute 32constructed by the passage 9, and temporarily caught by the shutter 53.

The microcomputer 97 supplies current to the shutter solenoid 64 to openthe opening/closing plates 63A and 63B (FIG. 27) as described above andthe medicines fall into the hopper 54. Then, the medicines are putthrough the nozzle 74 into the packaging paper 72, packaged by thepackaging machine 13 as described above, and then transferred from thetake-out port 82 to the outside. At this time, at the time point whenthe medicines fall from the shutter 53 to the hopper 54, the nextmedicine discharging operation is carried out. Therefore, themicrocomputer 97 shortens the time required for the packaging.Furthermore, the printing operation for medicines to be packaged iscarried out by the printer 73 before the medicines concerned are putinto the packaging paper.

Here, in this embodiment, 320 tablet cases 3 are accommodated in thecase accommodating portion 8. Accordingly, 320 types of medicines atmaximum can be supplied and packaged. However, when the types ofmedicines to be treated exceed the capacity of the case accommodatingportion 8, accommodating containers 5 (at the side wall side of the caseaccommodating portion 8) of tablet cases 3 of each of the drawers 2located at the right and left ends of the case accommodating portion 8are exchanged by accommodating containers 51 containing necessary typesof medicines. The identification codes of the accommodating containersthus exchanged are read out by the identifying sensors 33, and input tothe microcomputer 97. The data concerning the new medicines thus readout are added to the data base.

At this time, when the case accommodating portion 8 contains no tabletcase 3 for one or plural types of medicines to be put into the packagingpaper, the microcomputer 97 transmits data to the personal computer PCto indicate an exchange of a tablet case 3 on the screen of the personalcomputer PC. At this time, the microcomputer 97 transmits data to thepersonal computer PC to display on the screen the position (address) ofthe accommodating container 51 of a table case 3 which may be detached.Accordingly, in a case where plural types of medicines are put into onepackage, there can be avoided such a disadvantage that when anaccommodating container 51 containing one type of medicines to be putinto the package concerned is newly installed because it does not existin the case accommodating portion 8, an accommodating container 51containing another type of medicines to be put into the packageconcerned is detached from the case accommodating portion 8 by mistake.Subsequently, the microcomputer 97 controls the driver 94 to carry outan abnormality detecting operation of periodically rotating the drummotor 14 in the reverse direction for a predetermined short time (forexample, 10 ms), and then rotate the drum motor 14 in the forwarddirection for the same time. The predetermined time of thereverse/forward rotation in the abnormality detecting operation is setto be sufficiently shorter than the time interval (medicine dischargingtime interval) at which the longitudinal groove 24 is coincident withthe discharge port 21 by the rotation of the discharge drum 23.

The microcomputer 97 reads the current value flowing in the drum motor14 under the abnormality detecting operation through the currenttransformer 96. If no current flows in the drum motor 14, themicrocomputer 97 judges that the coil of the drum motor 14 is broken,and executes an alarm operation. The data of the alarm is transmitted tothe personal computer PC and displayed on the screen. The abnormalitydetecting operation is successively carried out on the drum motors 14 ofall the tablet cases 3. In this case, the time for the reverse/forwardrotation in the abnormality detecting operation is set to besufficiently shorter than the medicine discharging interval, and thus nomedicine is discharged.

Particularly, the drum motor 14 is first reversely rotated, and thuseven when a medicine is about to fall from the longitudinal groove 24 tothe discharge port 21 in the previous discharging operation (the forwardrotation of the drum motor 14), there occurs no such a disadvantage thatthe medicine is erroneously discharged to the discharge port 21.

On the basis of an instruction data from the personal computer PC, themicrocomputer 97 supplies current to the solenoids corresponding to thedrawers 2 of one column to all the columns which are specified by aninput operation to the personal computer PC concerned, and the plungers42A is projected backwardly to set the lock state. Accordingly, it isimpossible to draw out all the drawers 2 of the column (containing allthe columns) corresponding to the solenoid 42 as described above (FIG.22). The lock release is carried out by supplying the solenoid 42 withcurrent in the reverse direction on the basis of an input operation tothe personal computer PC. At this time, the plunger 42 is sucked in asdescribed above (FIG. 23).

In this case, an operation access right for the lock and the lockrelease is set to the personal computer PC by a user (password or thelike). Accordingly, there can be avoided such a disadvantage that ashelve 2 is carelessly drawn out and different medicines areaccommodated in a tablet case 3.

Here, the microcomputer 97 judges on the basis of the lock sensor 43whether the stay 34 is under the release state or regulated state asdescribed above, and carries out no lock operation on the solenoid 42corresponding to a column on which some drawer 2 is drawn out and thestay 34 is set to the regulated state. Accordingly, there can be avoidedsuch a disadvantage that the lock member 41 of the stay 34 under theregulated state is hooked to the plunger 42A of the solenoid 42 and thusthe stay 34 is not rotatable. As described above, the lock state of thesolenoid 42 may be manually released by pulling the lock release lever44. It is required to limit persons who know the lock release lever 44,and the lock release lever 44 may be located at a normally unknownposition, for example, it may be operated from only the lower structure7B side. Accordingly, even when the solenoid 42 has a breakdown and thusthe lock state cannot be released, there is no problem in the drawingoperation of the drawers 2.

The microcomputer 97 integrates the operation time of each drum motor 14in the medicine discharging/packaging operation described above.Furthermore, the microcomputer 97 integrates the operation frequency ofeach shutter solenoid 64 and the solenoid 42 and the operation frequencyof each of the heat seal head 76 of the packaging machine 13, thethermal transfer head 93 of the printer 73, etc. In addition, durablelimited values of these consumable parts are input and set in themicrocomputer 97.

When the operating times or the operation frequencies of theseconsumable parts approach to or reach the corresponding durable limitedvalues, the microcomputer 97 transmits breakdown predicting data to thepersonal computer PC so that it is indicated on the screen of thepersonal computer PC that the risk of the breakdown of the consumablepart concerned is high, whereby a user can beforehand exchange a drummotor 14, a shutter solenoid 64, a solenoid 42, a heat seal head 76 or athermal transfer head 93 which approaches to or reaches thecorresponding durable limit, and thus avoid such a situation that supplyof medicines is delayed because the consumable part has a breakdown.

Here, FIG. 35 shows an additional unit 98 which can secured to themedicine supply apparatus 1. For example, in the case of a large-scalehospital or the like, 320 tablet cases 3 may be insufficient under thestate of FIG. 1. Therefore, in such a case, the top plate 1A of theupper structure 7A is detached, and the additional unit 98 is fixedlyjoined to the upper opening portion of the upper structure 7A (the topplate 1A is secured to the upper face of the additional unit 98). Theadditional unit 98 is equipped with plural drawers (for example, four)of one stage in the right-and-left direction so that the drawers arefreely drawn out. Accordingly, the number of the tablet cases 3 isincreased by 64.

The lower end of the passage 9 of each drawer 2 of the additional unitis matched with the upper end of the passage 9 of each drawer 2 at theupper end of the case accommodating portion 8 located below theadditional unit to thereby form continuous chutes 32. The drum motor 14and the medicine detecting sensor 18 of each tablet case 3 of theadditional unit 98 are also connected to the microcomputer 97, and thesame discharging operation is carried out.

Here, a drawer 2A which is twice as high as the drawers 2 describedabove may be mounted in the case accommodating portion 8 so as to befreely drawn out as shown in FIGS. 36 and 37. In this case, a tabletcase 3A having a large-capacity accommodating container 51A as shown inFIGS. 36 and 37 is mounted on the shelve 2A. FIG. 36 shows a case wherenormal tablet cases 3 and a large-capacity tablet case 3A are mounted incombination, and FIG. 37 shows a case where only large-capacity tabletcases 3A are mounted. In both the cases, the harness 28 described aboveis connected to the shelve 2A by a connector.

In addition to tablets, capsules, etc., medicines such as half tabletsachieved by cutting tablets into halves are treated In the medicinesupply apparatus as described above. Furthermore, there is a medicinewhich is used by only a small amount or another medicine which is usedby a large amount at a time. Still furthermore, the maximum number oftablet cases which can be accommodated are not necessarily required tobe used in some hospitals or medical pharmacies. In consideration ofsuch a situation, the usability of the medicine supply apparatusdescribed above is expected to be enhanced.

In order to implement this expectation, the medical supply apparatus ofthis embodiment may be designed so that a drawer 2B having tablet cases3B for half tablets (tablets cut into halves) as shown in FIG. 38 ismounted in the case accommodating portion 8 so as to be freely drawnout. The harness 28 described above is also connected to this drawer 2Bthrough a connector. Furthermore, a drawer 2C on which no tablet case ismounted as shown in FIG. 39 may be mounted in the case accommodatingportion 8 so as to be freely drawn out. Medicines packed by cardboards,etc. are put on the drawer 2C, however, no harness is connected thereto.

As described above, various drawers such as the drawers 2A, 2B on whichdifferent tablets are mounted or the drawer 2C to which no power sourceis connected can be mounted in the case accommodating portion 8 so as tobe freely drawn out, so that the usability of the medicine supplyapparatus 1 can be remarkably enhanced.

Furthermore, plural kinds of drawers on which different types of tabletcases (which are different in size or shape of the tablet cases ordifferent in the type of accommodated medicines, or the lie) are mountedindependently or in combination may be mounted in the case accommodatingportion of the medicine supply apparatus so as to be freely drawn out.Still furthermore, drawers on which tablet cases can be mounted anddrawers on which no table case is mounted (articles other than thetablet cases are mounted) may be mounted so as to be drawn out.

FIG. 40 shows another lower structure 7C. The lower structure 7C can bealso connected to the lower end of the upper structure 7A, and itconstitutes the medicine supply apparatus 1 while connected to the upperstructure 7 a. A bottling machine 99 is secured as a charging apparatusin the lower structure 7, and four hoppers 101 are juxtaposed with oneanother at the upper side of the bottling machine 99 so as to face thelower ends of the respective chutes 32 of the upper structure 7A. Noshutter 53 is equipped.

The bottling machine 99 comprises a catcher 104 having griping arms 103which can grip a bottle 102 as a container, a feeding device 106 formoving the catcher 104 in the right-and-left direction and in theup-and-down direction, a conveyor 107 for feeding the bottle 102, etc. Abottle fed from an insertion port 109 by the conveyor 107 is gripped bythe griping arms 103 of the catcher 104, and under this state thefeeding device 106 feeds the bottle 102 concerned to the lower side ofthe lower end opening of the hopper 101 to which medicines aredischarged and fall. Accordingly, the medicines are charged in thebottle 102. The bottle 102 charged with the medicines is fed to thetake-out port 108 by the conveyor 107.

Here, in addition to the lower structure in which the packaging machine13 or the bottling machine 99 described above is accommodated, a lowerstructure in which a charging apparatus called as a blister packagingmachine is accommodated may be considered. When the lower structures 7Band 7C equipped with the different types of charging apparatuses asdescribed above are designed to be selectively joined to the lower sideof the common upper structure 7A, it is unnecessary to prepare for boththe medicine supply apparatus which are equipped with the caseaccommodating portion containing the tablet cases and the differentcharging apparatuses, respectively. Therefore, versatility can beremarkably enhanced, and the production cost can be reduced.

In this embodiment, data input to the medicine supply apparatus 1 iscarried out by the personal computer PC which is separately equipped.However, alternatively or in addition, there may be adopted a method ofsecuring a control panel 111 to the door panel 6 of any drawer 2 andinputting data such as a medical prescription or the like from thecontrol panel 111 or displaying an alarm there.

In this embodiment, the plural drawers 2 which are accommodated in thecase accommodating portion 8 so as to be freely drawn out are equippedwith the door panels 6 to close the opening of the front face of theupper structure 7A (case accommodating portion 8), however, the presentinvention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, as shown inFIG. 43, no door panel is secured to each drawer 2, and the opening ofthe front face of the upper structure 7A is closed to be freelyopened/closed by double-doored upper panels 112. In this case, the lockoperation for prohibiting the draw-out of all the drawers 2 is performedby locking the upper panels 112.

As described above, according to the present invention, drawers ofplural stages in the up-and-down direction are equipped in the caseaccommodating portion of the main body, plural tablet cases are mountedon each drawer, and each drawer is mounted so as to be freely drawn outfrom the case accommodating portion. Therefore, when a tablet case issupplemented with medicines or exchanged by another tablet case, it canbe performed by drawing out each drawer.

Accordingly, as compared with the structure that drawers in theup-and-down direction are simultaneously drawn out, the gap to be formedbetween the upper and lower drawers for supplement or exchange ofmedicines can be reduced more greatly, and thus the number of tabletcases to be accommodated in the case accommodating portion can beincreased with suppressing increase of the dimension of the overallmedicine supply apparatus.

Furthermore, the main body is constructed by the upper structure inwhich the tablet cases are equipped and the lower structure in which thecharging apparatus is equipped, and also each of the plural lowerstructures which are respectively equipped with different chargingapparatuses in accordance with the types of containers charged withmedicines can be selectively joined to the upper structure. Therefore, alower structure equipped with any one of a packaging machine forcharging and packaging medicines in packaging paper, a bottling machinefor bottling medicines and a blister packaging machine can beselectively joined to the upper structure, so that the upper structurecan be commonly used and thus it is unnecessary to prepare for pluralmedicine supply apparatuses which are equipped with tablet cases anddifferent charging apparatuses, respectively. That is, a lower structurehaving a charging apparatus matched with an application is used whilejoined to the upper structure, so that the versatility can be remarkablyenhanced and the production cost and the part management cost can beremarkably reduced.

Furthermore, the tablet cases, the hopper and the charging apparatusesare mounted in the medicine supply apparatus so that they can be drawnout from the main body and detached therefrom. Therefore, in the case ofmaintenance such as exchange of a tablet case, cleaning of a hopper,part exchange of a charging apparatus, etc., the detaching work of theseelements is carried out under the state that they are drawn out from themain body. Accordingly, the maintenance workability of the medicinesupply apparatus can be remarkably enhanced, and medicines can besmoothly charged.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, according to the present invention, drawers on whichplural tablet cases of medicines can be mounted are equipped over pluralstages in the up-and-down direction in the upper structure (caseaccommodating portion) of the main body, each drawer can be freely drawnout from the case accommodating portion, and the charging apparatus inthe lower structure can be drawn out from the main body. The lowerstructure can be freely joined to the upper structure, so that manytablet cases can be accommodated with suppressing increase in size ofthe apparatus. Furthermore, the tablet case accommodating portion can becommonly used, and any charging apparatus can be freely joined to thecommon tablet case accommodating portion in accordance with the type ofcontainers containing medicines.

1. A medicine supply apparatus comprising a plurality of tablet casesequipped in a case accommodating portion of a main body thereof, each ofthe tablet cases having medicines accommodated therein, chutes throughwhich medicines discharged from the tablet cases are passed, a hopperequipped so as to face the lower portions of the chutes, and a chargingapparatus for charging a medicine accommodating container with medicinescaught by the hopper, characterized in that a plurality of drawers arearranged in the horizontal and vertical directions in the caseaccommodating portion so as to be freely drawn out independently of oneanother in each of the horizontal and vertical directions, and thetablet cases are detachably mounted on the drawers, each of said drawershaving a centrally located vertically extending passage therein, saidtablet cases being mounted on both sides of the respective passages,each of said passages being sized and positioned to mutually communicatewith one another when the drawers are received in the case accommodatingportion to form a continuous passage in the vertical direction.
 2. Themedicine supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of thedrawers is designed so that tablet cases can be mounted thereon or notablet case is mounted thereon.
 3. The medicine supply apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the different types of tablet cases aretablet cases which are different in size or shape or different in thetype of medicines to be accommodated in the tablet cases.
 4. Themedicine supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of thedrawers is designed so that different types of tablet cases andcorresponding tablet cases can be mounted thereon.
 5. A medicine supplyapparatus comprising a plurality of tablet cases equipped in a caseaccommodating portion of a main body thereof, each of the tablet caseshaving medicines accommodated therein, chutes through which medicinesdischarged from the tablet cases are passed, a hopper equipped so as toface the lower portions of the chutes, and a charging apparatus forcharging a medicine accommodating container with medicines caught by thehopper, characterized in that a plurality of drawers are arranged in thehorizontal and vertical directions in the case accommodating portion soas to be freely drawn out independently of one another in each of thehorizontal and vertical directions, and the tablet cases are detachablymounted on the drawers, each of the drawers has a passage passing in anup-and-down direction at the center thereof, the tablet cases aremounted at both the sides of the respective passages, and the passagesof the respective drawers mutually intercommunicate with one anotherunder a state that the drawers are accommodated in the caseaccommodating portion, thereby constructing the chutes linked to oneanother in the up-and-down direction, said medicine supply apparatusfurther comprising an additional unit connected to the upper side of themain body, wherein a plurality of drawers are equipped in the additionalunit so as to be freely drawn out, tablet cases are detachably mountedon the drawers, and under a state that the plural drawers of theadditional unit are accommodated in the additional unit, passages whichare equipped at the centers of the drawers of the additional unit andintercommunicate with one another in the up-and-down directionintercommunicate with the passages of the drawers accommodated in thecase accommodating portion, thereby constructing chutes continuouslyextending from the additional unit through the case accommodatingportion in the up-and-down direction.
 6. A medicine supply apparatuscomprising a plurality of tablet cases equipped in a case accommodatingportion of a main body thereof, each of the tablet cases havingmedicines accommodated therein, chutes through which medicinesdischarged from the tablet cases are passed, a hopper equipped so as toface the lower portions of the chutes, and a charging apparatus forcharging a medicine accommodating container with medicines caught by thehopper, characterized in that the tablet cases are mounted on drawersarranged in the horizontal and vertical directions in the caseaccommodating portion so as to be freely drawn out independently of oneanother in each of the horizontal and vertical directions, the hopperand the charging apparatus are equipped so as to be allowed to be drawnout and detached from the main body, each of the drawers has a passagepassing in an up-and-down direction at the center thereof, the tabletcases are mounted at both the sides of the respective passages, and thepassages of the respective drawers mutually intercommunicate with oneanother under a state that the drawers are accommodated in the caseaccommodating portion, thereby constructing the chutes linked to oneanother in the up-and-down direction, said medicine supply apparatusfurther comprising regulating means for prohibiting adjacent drawersfrom being simultaneously drawn out.
 7. The medicine supply apparatusaccording to claim 6, wherein the drawers are equipped on plural columnsin the right-and-left direction and plural stages in the up-and-downdirection in the case accommodating portion, and the regulating meansprohibits drawers adjacent to each other on a column basis or a stagebasis from being simultaneously drawn out.
 8. The medicine supplyapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the regulating means comprises astay which is rotatably disposed at the rear side of the inside of thecase accommodating portion so as to correspond to the rear portions ofthe drawers located on each colunm or stage, and upon draw-out of anydrawer, the stay prohibits draw-out of other drawers located on the samecolunm or stage as the drawer concerned.
 9. The medicine supplyapparatus according to claim 6, further comprising lock means forprohibiting draw-out of the drawers.
 10. The medicine supply apparatusaccording to claim 9, wherein the lock means is of an electricmotor-driven type.
 11. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim9, wherein the operation of the lock means is prohibited when any draweris drawn out.
 12. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 9,further comprising lock release means for releasing the lock means. 13.The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the lockretease means is of a manual type.
 14. A medicine supply apparatuscomprising a plurality of tablet cases equipped in a case accommodatingportion of a main body thereof, each of the table cases having medicinesaccommodated therein, chutes through which medicines discharged from thetablet cases are passed, a hopper equipped so as to face the lowerportions of the chutes, and a charging apparatus for charging a medicineaccommodating container with medicines caught by the hopper,characterized in that the main body comprises an upper structure inwhich the tablet cases are equipped, and a lower structure which isdetachably joined to the lower side of the upper structure and in whichthe charging apparatus is set up, and any one of plural types of lowerstructures in which different charging apparatuses are respectively setup in accordance with the types of containers to be charged withmedicines is selectively joined to the upper structure.
 15. The medicinesupply apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the charging apparatuscomprises any one of a packaging machine for charging and packagingmedicines in packaging paper, a bottling machine for bottling medicinesand a blister packaging machine, and the lower structure in which anyone of the packaging machine, the bottling machine and the blisterpackaging machine is mounted is selectively joined to the upperstructure.
 16. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 15,further comprising a shutter which is detachably secured to the mainbody so as to be freely opened/closed and temporarily catches medicinesfalling from the chutes to the hopper.
 17. The medicine supply apparatusaccording to claim 16, wherein the shutter and the hopper are equippedso as to be allowed to be simultaneously drawn out from the main body.18. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 16, wherein theshutter is equipped with a buffer member for absorbing impact ofmedicines falling from the chutes.
 19. The medicine supply apparatusaccording to claim 18, wherein the shutter comprises a pair of slopewalls which are separated from each other while inclining upwardly, andan opening/closing plate for freely opening/closing an opening formedbetween the lower ends of the slope walls, and the buffer member isdownwardly suspended at the center between the slope walls so as to facethe slope walls.
 20. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim19, wherein the lower end of the buffer member extends furtherdownwardly from the opening.
 21. The medicine supply apparatus accordingto claim 20, wherein the lower end of the buffer member extendsdownwardly so as to be pinched by the opening/closing plate while theopening/closing plate is in a close state.
 22. A medicine supplyapparatus comprising a plurality of tablet cases equipped in a caseaccommodating portion of a main body thereof, each of the tablet caseshaving medicines accommodated therein, chutes through which medicinesdischarged from the tablet cases are passed, a hopper equipped so as toface the lower portions of the chutes, and a charging apparatus forcharging a medicine accommodating container with medicines caught by thehopper, characterized in that the tablet cases are mounted on drawersarranged in the horizontal and vertical directions in the caseaccommodating portion so as to be freely drawn out independently of oneanother in each of the horizontal and vertical directions, the hopperand the charging apparatus are equipped so as to be allowed to be drawnout and detached from the main body, each of said drawers having acentrally located vertically extending passage therein, said tabletcases being mounted on both sides of the respective passages, each ofsaid passages being sized and positioned to mutually communicate withone another when the drawers are received in the case accommodatingportion to form a continuous passage in the vertical direction.
 23. Themedicine supply apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the tabletcases are equipped so that a plurality of tablet cases can besimultaneously drawn out and detached from the main body.
 24. A medicinesupply apparatus comprising a plurality of tablet cases equipped in acase accommodating ortion of a main body thereof, each of the tabletcases having medicines accommodated therein, chutes through whichmedicines discharged from the tablet cases are passed, a hopper equippedso as to face the lower portions of the chutes, and a charging apparatusfor charging a medicine accommodating container with medicines caught bythe hopper, characterized in that the tablet cases are mounted ondrawers arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions in the caseaccommodating portion so as to be freely drawn out indenendently of oneanother in each of the horizontal and vertical directions, the hopperand the charging apparatus are equipped so as to be allowed to be drawnout and detached from the main body, said medicine supply apparatusfurther comprising a shutter which is equipped in the main body so as tobe freely opened/closed and temporarily catch medicines falling from thechutes to the hopper, wherein the shutter is equipped so as to beallowed to be drawn out and detached from the main body.
 25. Themedicine supply apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the shutter andthe hopper are equipped so as to be allowed to be simultaneously drawnout from the main body.
 26. The medicine supply apparatus according toclaim 24, wherein the shutter is equipped with a buffer member which issuspended and can absorb impact of medicines falling from the chutes.27. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 26, wherein theshutter comprises a pair of slope walls which are separated from eachother while inclining upwardly, and an opening/closing plate for freelyopening/closing an opening formed between the lower ends of the slopewalls, and the buffer member is downwardly suspended at the centerbetween the slope walls so as to face the slope walls.
 28. The medicinesupply apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the lower end of thebuffer member extends further downwardly from the opening.
 29. Themedicine supply apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the lower endof the buffer member extends downwardly so as to be pinched by theopening/closing plate while the opening/closing plate is in a closestate.
 30. A medicine supply apparatus comprising a plurality of tabletcases equipped in a case accommodating portion of a main body thereof,each of the tablet cases having medicines accommodated therein, chutesthrough which medicines discharged from the tablet cases are passed, ahopper equipped so as to face the lower portions of the chutes, and acharging apparatus for charging a medicine accommodating container withmedicines caught by the hopper, characterized in that the tablet casesare mounted on drawers arranged in the horizontal and verticaldirections in the case accommodating portion so as to be freely drawnout independently of one another in each of the horizontal and verticaldirections, the hopper and the charging apparatus are equipped so as tobe allowed to be drawn out and detached from the main body, wherein thecharging apparatus is equipped with heat-adhesive packaging paper woundin a roll shape and a nozzle which is inserted in the packaging papercontinuously drawn out and puts medicines discharged from the tabletcases into the packaging paper, and the nozzle is designed to be freelyswingable in a direction perpendicular to a feeding direction of thepackaging paper.